Carter McCauley talks during his friend Alec DeJong during a vigil to remember late Clemson students. The event was hosted by the Undergraduate Student Government Tuesday, April 16, 2019. SABRINA SCHAEFFER/Staff

Vice President for Student Affairs Almeda Jacks addresses the crowd gathered at the amphitheater for a vigil hosted by the Undergraduate Student Government at Clemson Tuesday, April 16, 2019. SABRINA SCHAEFFER/Staff

Vice President for Student Affairs Almeda Jacks addresses the crowd gathered at the amphitheater for a vigil hosted by the Undergraduate Student Government at Clemson Tuesday, April 16, 2019. SABRINA SCHAEFFER/Staff

The silence was part of a vigil hosted by the Undergraduate Student Government to honor students who have passed away during their time at the university.

"We saw a need for our student body to be able to come together to remember and celebrate our fellow students who passed before their time here at Clemson," Logan Young, the student body president-elect said.

Young said she hopes the vigil will start a new campus tradition. Other schools already hold annual memorials for faculty, staff and students who have died. The University of South Carolina hosts a Service of Remembrance each year.

Candlelit lanterns float on the reflection pond at Clemson during a vigil hosted by the Undergraduate Student Government Tuesday, April 16, 2019.(Photo: SABRINA SCHAEFFER/Staff)

On May 23, Clemson will break ground on the Samuel J. Cadden Chapel, which will also serve as a physical memorial for students who have died.

Hannah Reen serves as chair of the Samuel J. Cadden Chapel Committee. At the vigil, she said student interest in building a chapel picked up during the 2007 to 2008 school year when seven students died.

"The chapel, once opened, will be a place for all students of all faiths to find a place of reflection and comfort in times of hardship," Reen said.

In future years, Reen and Young hope the vigil will start at the chapel and then move to the Reflection Pond on campus for students to release lanterns on the water.

During Tuesday's vigil, students released 93 paper lanterns, to symbolize the year students first came to Clemson's campus in 1893 and the time it took to begin the new tradition.

Before releasing the lanterns on the water, student Carter McCauley spoke.

McCauley's friend Alec Jonathan DeJong died in a car accident in 2017. The two lived next to one another, were involved in the same organizations, shared a major and sat by each other in classes, McCauley said.

"I am so grateful for nights like these when we can gather together and honor the legacies of those in our community who, even in their short time here with us, brought us so much joy," McCauley said.

In thinking of what to say at the vigil, McCauley said he was reminded of a line from a memorial service for DeJong: "God doesn't give us answers, he gives us people."

DeJong was one of those people for McCauley.

The vigil was also personal for Clemson's vice president of student affairs, Almeda Jacks.

"Clemson is a family and any time we lose a family member it hurts," Jacks said.

When Jacks was a senior at Clemson, her brother died at age 27. He was also an alumnus of the university.

Vice President for Student Affairs Almeda Jacks addresses the crowd gathered at the amphitheater for a vigil hosted by the Undergraduate Student Government at Clemson Tuesday, April 16, 2019.(Photo: SABRINA SCHAEFFER/Staff)

"It was quite an experience for me that I don't want to go through again, and I don't want any of you to go through, but I got through that with my faith first, my family second and my Clemson family third," she said.